Acupuncture for Addiction and More

As an acupuncturist, yogi and mother, Stefanie Finocchio-Durham, of Root & Sky Wellness in East Boston and a Revere resident, believes that Chinese medicine can help people be and feel their best.

Acupuncture is a traditional form of Chinese medicine that has been around for over 3,000 years. It is a natural, safe treatment that includes the insertion of sterile, hair-thin, single-use, stainless-steel needles on various points of the body.

For the past four years Finocchio-Durham has been practicing in clinical settings. Six months ago she brought her practice to 1140 Saratoga St. on the Winthrop and East Boston line.

Recently, the CLEAR (Community and Law Enforcement Assisted Recovery) program in Winthrop, run through the public health nurse’s office, added Finocchio-Durham to its referrals.

“We support a holistic approach to addiction,” said Deana Faretra, RN, public health nurse for the town of Winthrop. “Recovery is a complex individual path and we support wellness in people.”

Finocchio-Durham focuses on working with people in pain and working on an array of women’s health issues.

Treatments are painless and can help with conditions ranging from digestive, sleep, respiratory, depression, headaches, high blood pressure, recovery, chronic pain and addiction.

“Acupuncture provides a smooth flow of “Qi” or energy. Acupuncture helps open all the channels and meridians so Qi can flow smoothly,” explains Finocchio-Durham.

“When we think of addiction there’s always a root issue of why someone is prone to addiction whether it’s an emotional component or a physical component. Acupuncture helps both,” she said. “It can calm the mind, curb that craving.”

She stressed that the key is that acupuncture helps everything because treatment creates a smooth flow of Qi or harmony in the body.

“When you have harmony in the body there’s no pain, suffering, depression nausea. The list can go on and on,” Finocchio-Durham said. “We create a smooth flow first and then we can help other things along the way.”

She learned her trade at the New England School of Acupuncture as part of the Massachusetts School of Pharmacy in Watertown, the oldest acupuncture school in the country.

“When helping with recovery and addiction there’s a lot of calming the mind, helping symptoms that pop up like headaches, trembling, nausea. We’re treating the symptoms and emotional components with it.”

When she worked at the Cambridge Health Alliance in Malden she treated several people dealing with addiction. She hopes to be able to bring the same treatments to this area.

“Acupuncture is so simple, non-invasive and can help treat addiction and recovery,’ Finocchio-Durham said, adding this goes for quitting cigarettes which is also an addiction.

Working with placing five to six hairline needles in spots inside the ear, Finocchio-Durham is in the area of the body where addiction is rooted. The needles stay in place for 15-20 minutes. The procedure helped one person who had been smoking for 40 years and had tried everything on the market to quit. “She hasn’t had a cigarette in four years,” she said.

There is a charge for visits. Finocchio-Durham said she is happy to sit with those interested and make a plan.

The Beachmont resident also owns the Yoga Lounge in Winthrop.